Latest news

New experts to boost school readiness

30 October 2025

The government has announced plans to recruit early years experts to help raise children’s school readiness across England.

At Ark Start, we welcome the government’s renewed focus on early development and the extra support it will bring to educators working with young children. 

Under the new initiative, local leads in early maths, language and development will receive specialist training and guidance from “subject matter experts” to help practitioners strengthen teaching in these key areas. This forms part of the Department for Education’s ambition to see 75% of children achieving a “good level of development” by 2028 – up from 67.7% last year. 

At Ark Start, 88% of children moving on to school are already reaching this level of development, despite many coming from less privileged backgrounds. This shows what’s possible when early years education is high quality, consistent and focused on the whole child. 

Language and early maths skills at age five are among the strongest predictors of later attainment, so this focus is well placed. In our nurseries, we see how developing children’s communication, confidence and curiosity through play helps children thrive when they begin school. 

The introduction of new local leads, supported by national experts, has the potential to raise the quality of early education and share best practice more widely. These measures are an encouraging step towards ensuring every child has the chance to start school ready to learn, grow and succeed. 

Read more about this on Schools Week.